Posted: 17 March 2026
The University of Melbourne has led an Australian consortium that has been awarded $2.1 million in Australian Government funding to develop a quantum-enabled biotechnology platform aimed at accelerating the discovery of treatments for neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease.
“Our system provides a pathway towards a fast, scalable tool for measuring real-time brain activity in synthetic tissue cultures that replicate human brain tissue,” Associate Professor David Simpson has said.
The consortium has been formed by the University in collaboration with Chromos Labs, Tessara Therapeutics, Quantum Brilliance and Axol Biosciences. The group has been tasked with developing a platform that measures real-time electrical activity in three-dimensional human neural micro-tissues using brain-on-chip technology.
The project, titled ‘quantum-enabled platform for neurological drug development’, has been selected as one of eight initiatives funded under Stage Two of the Critical Technologies Challenge Program, which has allocated a total of $12.7 million to support prototype development.
The technology has been designed to address key challenges in neurological drug development, an area where preclinical models have often failed to accurately predict human outcomes. By enabling real-time monitoring of brain activity in laboratory-grown tissue, treatment responses are expected to be assessed more efficiently, supporting faster progression towards clinical trials.
Professor Mark Cassidy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of Melbourne, has stated that the initiative has demonstrated the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in translating research into practical applications, noting the University’s position within the Melbourne Biomedical Precinct and its connection to innovative biotechnology companies.